Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Montana Grizzlies Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Montana Grizzlies

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, MT

TV: ESPN+

The Montana Grizzlies (6-7) welcome the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-7) at Dahlberg Arena on Thursday.

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks stepped onto the hardwood against Incarnate Word and took a loss by a score of 90-66 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Lumberjacks ended up with 19 while Incarnate Word recorded 18 personal fouls. They also converted 12 of their 28 attempts from long range. Incarnate Word finished 66.7% at the free throw line by converting 20 of their 30 attempts. On top of that, Incarnate Word pulled down 35 rebounds (8 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Incarnate Word earned 13 dimes and had 8 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to defense, Northern Arizona allowed the other team to shoot 48.3% from the field on 29 of 60 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists in this matchup as well as forcing 7 turnovers and having 1 steal. When it comes to grabbing boards, they compiled 32 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Lumberjacks buried 10 of their 21 shots for a rate of 47.6%. Northern Arizona finished the game with a 51.1% FG percentage (24 out of 47) and buried 8 of their 17 3-point attempts.

Ryan Abelman is someone who was a contributor in this contest. He accounted for 16 points on 6 out of 9 shooting. He played for 33 minutes and also collected 6 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Northern Arizona will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 5-7 so far this year. They are averaging 72.1 pts per contest (294th in college hoops) on 45.9% from the field. The Lumberjacks are shooting 35.8% on shots from downtown (83 of 232) and 63.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Northern Arizona is pulling in 34.0 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 155 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 312th in college in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.0 fouls every game.

On defense, the Lumberjacks are able to force 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.4 fouls. They are conceding 35.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 217th in D-1 in opponents points per game (74.7). The Lumberjacks are giving up a FG percentage of 44.6% (319 of 715) and they surrender 37.9 rebounds per contest as a unit. They rank 163rd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 166 conceded so far this year.

For their last game, the Montana Grizzlies walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 94-54 when they faced Louisville. In relation to cleaning up the glass, Montana permitted Louisville to collect 46 in total (12 offensive). They finished 35.3% from 3-point land by hitting 12 out of 34 and ended up shooting 14 out of 19 from the free throw line (73.7%). The Grizzlies allowed Louisville to bury 34 out of 65 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.3% for the matchup. In all, the Grizzlies finished 17 for 53 from the floor which had them shooting 32.1%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, Montana made 7 of their 24 tries (29.2%). They were able to bury 13 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 86.7%. Louisville committed 15 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Grizzlies to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They coughed up the ball 19 times, while earning 9 steals for the contest. The Grizzlies collected 20 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 24 in the game.

Grant Kepley ended up being a factor for the Grizzlies in the game. He converted 5 of 12 for this game for a field goal rate of 41.7%, and tallied 1 rebound. He accumulated 15 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in this matchup.

Montana has a win-loss mark of 6-7 so far this year. The Grizzlies are responsible for committing 17.8 fouls per contest and they hit 73.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 16.2 times per game (99th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.5 times per game. Montana has earned 1,052 pts on the year (80.9 per game) and they collect 38.2 boards per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Grizzlies are connecting on 49.2% from the field, which ranks 46th in the nation.

The Montana defense allows 30.0% on shots from beyond the arc (91 of 303) and their opponents are connecting on 68.3% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 13.2 assists and 34.5 rebounds per game, which ranks them 177th and 184th in the nation. The Grizzlies are ranked 221st in the nation in points given up per game with 74.8. They have forced 11.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the field (148th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Montana

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